pHS^ 



ADDEES8 , ^^ 



OF THE 



nion State Central Committee 



TO 



THE PEOPLE OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



AND 



THE PLATFORMS 



OF THE 



TWO POLITICAL ORGANIZATIONS, 



FOR 



1865. 




PHILADELPHIA: 
KIXCx h BAIRD, PRINTERS, No. COt SANSOM STREET. 

18 6 5. 






«> *>»- 







YLVAil. 



THE VERDICT IST 1864. 



In a short time you -will again be called 
TiI>on to exercise tlie highest pri^'iU'ge, and 
pt'ri'orm one of the most sacred duties of 
Freemen. One year ago our State was 
deeply agitated by a conflict of opinion 
wliich was emphatically and unniistak;ibly 
settled at the ballot-box. Then the public 
mind was thoroughly aroused by the warmth 
and ability of the c(mtest. On both sides 
Avere arrayed men who earnestly, and per- 
bups in most cases sincerely, endeavoured 
to persuade their fellow-citizens that the 
triumph of their views was indispensable to 
Cie welfare and prosperity of the State, the 
peace and enjoyment of the people, and the 
dm'ation and life of the Nation. After a 
long, well contested and thorough canvass, 
flie people of Pennsylvania, by more than 
t;wenty thousand, and the people of the 
Nation, by more than four hundred thous- 
EQid majority, rendered their verdict. The 
lilies were plainly drawn, and the issue 
dearly and fully made up. It is impopi^ible 
iQi any one to be mistaken as to the chiirac- 
ter of Uie trial, or the nature of the verdict. 
The administration of Abraham Lincoln 
was on trial. The American people were 
tlie jtirors. The contest was waged by his 
friends, under most injiuspicious cir<-um- 
§tances, and in the midst of unparalleled 
'djfficulties and trials. No event, in the 
history of the human race, was so well cal- 
culated to test fully and completely the 
capacity of man for self-government. The 
people were called upon, voluntarily, to tax 
themselves for the payment of an immense, 
and daily increasing debt. They were asked 
to furnish more men for the army ; and on 
the very eve of the election, President Lin- 
coln proceeded to enforce a draft to till up 
the army at all hazards, preferring the sup- 
pression of the rebellion and the life of tlie 
Rejiiublic, to his own success at the polls, 



an example of disinterestea patriotism and 
of heroic action, never surpassed by any 
ruler named in history. 

The people of the United States proved 
themselves worthy of such a ruler. Ani- 
mated by a lofty patriotism, rising above all 
considerations of selfishness, and having 
resolved upon their knees,«and in their closets 
that the noble old Kepublic of our fathers 
should not perish ; in spite of all our ene- 
mies at home and abroad, the tyrants and 
aristocracies of Europe, the kings of the 
earth, armed traitors in the South, their 
sympathisers in the North, and all the ene- 
mies of human liberty, everywhere, they 
heroically and courageously recorded their 
verdict at the ballot-box. Both parties went 
into the contest with their principles plainly 
inscribed upon their banners, and it is im- 
possible to suppose that the people did not 
understand the nature, extent, and true 
character of the issues which they were 
trying. 

The Union Convention at Baltimore, 
which nominated Lincoln and Johnson, 
declared as follows : 

"■R/solrrd, That it Is the highest duty of 
every American citizen to maintain against 
all their enemies the integrity of the Union, 
and the paramount authority of the Consti- 
tution and laws of the United States ; and 
that, laying aside all difierences of political 
opinion, we pledge ourselves as Union meii 
auiuinted by a common sentiment, and aim- 
ing at a common object, to do everything 
in our power to aid the Government in 
quelling, by force of arms, the rebellion now 
raging against its authority, and in bring- 
ing to the punishment due to their crimes, 
the rebels and traitors arrayed against it. 

'■'■Resolred, TH&X we approve the determi- 
3 



nation of the Government of the United 
States not to compromise witli rebels, nor 
to olfer any terms of peace except such as 
nia^ be based upon an ' unconditional sur- 
render ' of their hostility, and a r(!furn to 
their just allegiance to the Consthutiou and 
Li-n-s of the United States, and tlu^ we call 
upon the Government to maintain this posi- 
t.on and to i)rosecute the war with the ut- 
most possible vigor to the complete sup- 
pression of the rebellion, in full reliance 
upon the self-sacrifice, the patriotism, the 
heroic valor, and the undying devotion of 
the American people to their country and 
its free institutions. 

^'Eesolved, That as Slavery was the cause, 
and now constitutes the strength, of this 
rebellion, and as it must be always and 
everywhere hostile to the principles of re- 
publican government, justice and the na- 
tional safety demands its utter and complete 
extirpation from the soil of the republic ; 
and that we uphold and mtiintain the acts 
and proclamations by which the Govern- 
ment, in iis own defence, has aimed a 
deu'th-blov/ at this gigantic evil. We are 
in favor, furthermore, of. such an amend- 
ment to the Constitution, to be made by the 
people, in. conformity with its provisions, 
as shall terminate and forever prohibit the 
existence of Slavery Avithin the limits of the 
juiisdictiou of the United States. 

'■^Besolved, That we approve and applaud 
the practical wisdom, the unselfish patriot- 
ism, and unswerving fidelity to the Consti- 
tution and the principles of Americnu lib- 
erty, with which Abraham Lincohi has 
discharged, under circumstances of unparal- 
leled difficultj^ the great duties and respon- 
sibilities of the Presidential office ; that we 
approve and endorse, as demanded by the 
emergency and essential to the preserv;ition 
of the nation, and as Avithin the Constitu- 
tion, the measures and. acts which he has J 
adopted to defend the nation against its !| 
open and secret foes. That we approve |l 
especially the Proclamation of Emancipa- | 
tion, and the employment as Union soldiers i 
of men heretofore held in slavery ; and that 
we have full confidence in his determination 
to carry these and all other Constitutional 
measures essential to the salvation of the 
countr}-, into full and complete etl'ect." 

In ojiposition to the views and principles 
thus announced, the represi'ntatives of the 
parly in opposition to the administrati(<n, 
met at Chicago, nominated McClellan and 
Pendleton, and erected a platfoi-m Avhich, 
among other things, contaj.rved the follow- 
ing : 



'■^Efnohfid, That this convention docs ex- 
plicitly declare, as the sense of the Ameri- 
can people, that after four years of failure ' 
to restore the Union by the experknent of 
war, during which, under the pretence of a 
mihtary necessity of Avar poAVcr higher tha,n 
the Constitution, the Constitution itself has 
been disregarded in every part, and public 
liberty and priA^ate right" alike trodden down, 
and the material prosperity of the country 
essentially impaired, justice, humanity, 
liberty and public welfare demand that iiA- 
mediate efforts be made for a cessation of 
hostilities, with a vieAV to an ultimate coh- 
vention of all tlie States, or other peaceable 
means to the end that at the earliest practi- 
cable moment peace may be restored on the 
basis of the Federal Union of the States. 

^'■Resolved, That the aim and object of tlae 
Democratic party is to preserve the Federal 
Union and the rights of the States unim- 
paired ; and they hereby declare that they 
consider the administrative usurpation of 
extraordinary and dangerous powers not 
granted by the Constitution, the subversion 
of the civil by military laAV in States not in 
insurrection, the arbitrary military arrest, 
imprisonment, trial and sentence of Ameri- 
can citizens in States Avherc civil law exists 
in full force, the suppression of freedom of 
speech and of the press, the denial of tlie 
right of asylum, the open and avowed dis- 
regard of state rights, the employment of 
unusual test-oaths, and the interference with 
and denial of the right of the people to bear 
arms, as calculated to prevent a restoration 
of the Union, and the perpetuation of a 
government deriving its just poAvers from 
the consent of the governed." 

PALSE AND TSUE PREDICTIOlfS OP 
THE CANVASS. 

During the progress of the campaign of 
1SG4, the speakers, writers and cauA'assers 
filled the country with their hopes and fears, 
their opinions and prophesies. In accord- 
ance with the platform of the opposition, 
their leaders boldly denounced the war as 
a failure, openly prociaimed that the South 
never could be conquered, and that the re- 
elcKion of Abraham Lincoln Avould certainfy 
prolong the Avar for at least four years more, 
and fill the land Avith debt, Avith shame and 
disgrace, and Avith untold horrors and woes, 
and finally destroy the Republic of our 
fathers and rear a great military despotista 
on its ruins. On the other hand, the friends 
of the Administration urged that there could 
be no safety for the nation, except in a 
vigorous prosecution of the war, and that 
the re-election of Mr. Lincolu Avould go far 



'6 



and do much to hasten the overthvovr of 
the rebellion. The result is before the 
world. The promises and i)ledges of Union 
men made in ISG-i, have all been kept and 
fulfilled. Those of our political adversaries 
Ijiave all been dissipated and proved hollow, 
delusive and false. The ballot-box exhibi- 
ted a majority unprecedented in the history 
Of the nation. The enemies of liberty in 
foreign lands stood appalled at the result. 
The friends of the Union everywhere took 
new courage. The rebels, trembled with 
f^,ar, the heart of the rebellion grew sick 
g'nd sank in the bosom of treason, and the 
sjinpalhizerS Avith rebellion in the North 
hid themselves away from the public gazCj 
and many of them to-day deny that they 
ever advocated the doctrines or made the 
prophesies which they then so earnestly 
defended, and so confidently proclaimed. 

Thanks to the heroism, courage and skill 
of American soldiers, sailors and officers, 
and to the God of battles, the war is over, 
our nation saved, and the good old Repub- 
lic still lives. Peace has again spread her 
gentle wings over our once happy and still 
beloved land. The sound of trumpets, 
the noise of cannon and miisketry, the 
tread of armies,, the victorious cheers of our 
brave soldiers, and the sickening groans of 
the wounded and dying are no longer 
heard in our borders. The nation, as in 
former times, comes out of the fiery ordeal 
ttiumphant, and now redeemed and vindi- 
GSltcd before the world, stands forth more 
bright than ever before as a beacon to the 
down-trodden and oppressed of all lands, 
as a terror to the tj^rants of the earth, as an 
asylum for the oppressed of all nations and 
as the wonder and admiration of the lovers 
of Freedom everywhere. 

The grass which we were told would 
grow in the streets of northern cities in case 
of war, is now growing in the streets where 
the i^rophesy was made. The ruin, poverty 
£Kid sutferiug which were to overtake the 
people of the North are resting upon the 
Ijcople who prayed for such blessings upon 
OUT heads. The new paradise which was 
to be discovered to delight the saints of the 
"Southern Confederacy," is filled with 
djrrkness and gloom, with sorrow and woe. 

The large and mighty armies of treason 
h^Jt^ been overthrown and scattered before 
the larger and more powerful armies of the 
Republic. Traitors and their friends every- 
where have been compelled to yield to the 
gt^atness, the power, the energy, the re- 
sources of the nation, and the courage, skill 
and endurance of her heroic sons. 

Borne of the leaders of the rebellion are 
buried beneath the soil they attempted to 
desecrate, some »re fugitives in foreign 
lands, and others are swarming the National 



Capital and crawling into the "White House, 
begging pardons from the man whom of all 
others in the land, they have most fiercely 
denounced, and most bitterly hate. The 
chief of the rebellion himself from his prison 
at Fortress ]\Ionroe, surveys the ruin ho has 
wrought among his own people and silently 
and sullenly awaits the action of the Nation 
he vainly attemjited to destroy, to- make 
known to him, in its own good time, the 
doom he so richly merits. 

In the North, we have prosperity and 
plenty, all the evidences of increasing 
power and greatness, everywhere present, 
and the nation surely and certainly advan- 
cing more rapidly than ever belbre in the 
path of progress. And, notwithstanding 
all the calamities and sacrifices of four years 
of bloody war, (made more destructive by 
the inhumanity and barbarism of our ene- 
mies) we have just welcomed to their homes 
more thiin one million of brave men who 
have saved the nation and made their 
names immortal. 



THE ISSUES or THE PSESEIJT 0AM- 
TAIGIL 

After the settlement of the issues of 1864, 
so disastrously in the field, and so ovei^r. 
whelmiugly at the ballot-box-- against our 
adversaries, it would seem most singular 
that the same questions should be again 
presented to the people of the Kej'slone 
State. But they have selected their ground 
and we willingly and gladly accept the 
challenge. At the convention of their or- 
ganization, recently held at Ilarrisburg, it 
v,'as resolved, that ' ' the men and the party 
administering the Government since IbOl, 
have betrayed their trust, violated their 
sacred obligations, disregarded the com- 
mands of the fundamental law, corruptly 
squandered the public money, perverted 
the whole Government from its original 
purposes, and thereby have brought untold 
calamities upon the country." The mea- 
sures of the administration of Abraham 
Lincoln, so recently endorsed by so large a 
majority of his countrymen, are here fool- 
ishly and wickedly denounced by the mem- 
bers of this convention, and the people of 
Pennsylvania arc gravely asked to sanction 
the act, reverse their own judgment and re- 
pudiate the verdict of the nation solemnly 
rendered at the ballot-box. 

The "Sic Semper Tyrannis" of theever- 
to-be-execrated Booth, uttered as he rushed 
from the scene of the great crime of the age, 
conveys no greater insult to the memory of 
Abraham Lincoln, nor runs more directly 
counter to the feelings and sentiments of 
his countrymen than does this utterano© of 



6 



the late so-called Democratic Convention. 
Let the whole army of freemen which 
marched to victory in 1864, under the ban- 
ner of Abraham Lincoln, be again called 
into the field, and march to the polls in 
October, I8O0, to resent the insult to his 
memory. Let there be no absentees— no 
deserters — no straggler — but let all the old 
soldiers, officers and men with a host of 
new recruits be on hand, ready for the 
fight. 

But our adversaries were not content to 
stop with this resolution. They say in sub- 
stance and eliect that "war existed as a 
fact upon the advent of the successful 
party in 1860 to the scat of pov^er," — that 
"slaughter, debt and disgrace are the re- 
sults of our late civil war," — and that " no 
more persons shall be nnirdered Ij}^ mili- 
tary commissions." We had thought that 
it had been pretty well settled by the 
American jieople that the war was caused, 
commenced and forced upon us by the 
actions and conduct of traitors, and that 
the election of a President according to 
the provisions of the Constitution and lavvs 
of the country, was no cause of v»ar what- 1 
ever. We thought, too, that success, the 
glory, greatness and renown of our common 
^ountry, — the death of treason, slavery, 
^tate sovereignty, and the right of seces- 
sion, and not simply "debt, disgrace and 
slaughter" were results of the war. As 
the action of the Military Commission had 
cost only the lives of a few ot the assassins 
of President Lincoln, and as only a few of 
the vilest of the rebels were in danger from 
similar trials, it is next to impossible to 
divine a motive for the hostility of the late 
convention toward military commissions. 
It would be uncharitable to intimate that 
it originated in sympathy with such crimi- 
uais as Wirz or Jefferson Davis. 

lu contrast with this remarkable platform 
of our political opponents, we have that of 
our own representatives, which, among 
other things, contains the following : 

"The Union Party of Pennsylvania, in 
State Convention assembled, declare : 

"1. That as representatives of the loyal 
people of the Commonwealth, we reverent- 
ly desire to offer our gratitud" to Ahnighty 
God, whose favor has vouciisafed victory 
(0 the national' arms, enabled us to eradi- 
cate the crime of slavery from our land, 
and to render treason against the Republic 
impossible forevermore ; and next to Ilim, 
our thanks are due and are hereby tendered 
to our brave soldiers and sailors, who, by 
their endurance, sacrifices, and illustrious 
heroism, have secured to thiir country 
peace, and to the dowu-troddea every. 



where an asylum of liberty ; who have 
shown that the war for the restoration of 
the Union is uot a failure, and whose valor 
has proven for all time the fact that tins 
Government of the people, by the people, 
for the people, is as invincible in its strength 
as it is beneficent in its operations." 

The doctrines and principles of the psrty 
in 1864 have been re-asserted by the con- 
vention of 18G5. It is confidently believed 
that they will not be deserted nor aban- 
doned by the people at the polls in October 
next. 



CONDITION OF STATES LATELY IN 
KESELLION. 

There exists between the two parties, 
and indeed among persons of the same 
political faith, some diff'erence of opinion 
in regard to the true condition and standing 
of States lately in rebellion against the 
Govenmient. It is not proposed to discuss 
the point of difi"erence which mostly in- 
volves an answer to the question: "Are 
the States now, and have they been during 
the war, within the Union or not V If by 
"the States" is meant the soil or territory 
embraced within their boundaries, or the 
space occupied by them upon the map, 
then we rejoice to heiipve that not one inch 
has ever yet been or ever can be taken out 
of the Union. But it would seem equally 
clear that the Goveraments of those States 
have been wholly and utterly subverte<l, 
and for four years and more have been 
violently hostile and antagonistic to the 
Union. We find that on the 20tli day of 
Nov , 18«0, the Attorney-General of tfie 
United States, (Judge Black) in an official 
opinion used the following language: "If 
it be true that war can not be declared, nor 
a system of general hostility carried on by 
the Central Government against a State, 
then it seems to follow that an attempt to 
do so would be ipM fiteio an expulsion of 
snch Slate from t/ui Union-, being treated aa 
an alien and an enemy, she would be com- 
pelled to act accordingly. And if ConQvens 
sJuM break vp the present Union by uncon- 
stitutionally putting strife and enmity and 
armed hostility between difierent sectioiw 
of the countiy, instead of the domeslie 
tranquillity, which the Constitution wtts 
meant to insure, will not all the States be 
absolved from their Federal obligations ? 
Is any portion of the people bound to con- 
tribut'j their money or their blood to carry 
on a contest like that ? If in accordance with 
this view ^' tlioKC States icere expdled fro-rn 
the Union,''^ and if " tfi^.y leere absolved fro'tn 
tlheir Fed^al obi-i</ations,^' it would seem to 



b«? pretty cLsai Uiat Uiey vr cr« out of the 
Union. 

On Ihe other side of tire Siime question 
we have the same authority. At the con- 
vention of AuguBt 24th, 1865, Judge Blaeli; 
Chaii'mau of the Committee on ResoUilions, 
reported, among other things, the follow- 
ing ; " That the Statet could rwt iiisoliie tlie 
pf'jple from tlitir Federal obligaUoiut ; that 
th-e iStats ordiiiancei of BcMSsivn were nulli- 
tks^ and therefore Avhen tlie attempted 
revolution camtj to an end by the submis- 
sion of the insurgents, the States were as 
much a part of the Union as they had been 
belore." it would seem trom these views 
tJiat when it suited the convenience, the 
fancy or perhaps the wishes of some {per- 
sons to have the insurrectionary States out 
of the Union, then they were out ; and 
when it was desu'able to have them back 
again, then they were in and had never 
been out 1 

We are sometimes told tliat the ordi- 
nances of secession were null and void. 
It is conceded that they were illegal and 
unconstitutional. So it ia to commit mur- 
der. But you cannot restore the life of the 
victim by declaring the illegal act null and 
void. It is unlawful to steal; yet if your 
horse be stolen you cannot bring him back 
liy declaring ever so earnestly that the act 
id null and void. 

Concede that the act of secession was not 
Oiily illegal and unconstitutional, but also 
null and void, then, of course, all that 
iollowed in pursuance thereof must be null 
and void. If the foundation is removed 
the superstructure must fall. It is matter 
of history, however, to every one, that in 
those- States all the judges. Legislatures, 
and officers chosen, and all the laws passed 
since the commencement of the rebellion, 
W(;re chosen and passed in pursuance of 
the ordinances of secession Of course, 
these actions we all null and void. Hence 
we find these States without Governors, 
without Judges, without Legislatures, and 
with their entire government subverted and 
overthrown. Being, however, a part of 
tiie soil and temtory of the nation, it is for 
the nation to provide a Government lor 
them until their people, freed liom the 
odium of treason and taught to submit ia 
good fath to the issue of the contest through 
whicli they have just passed, shall prepare 
and adopt for themselves a truly Republi- 
can form of government, recognizing all 
the great truths vindicated and established 
by the blood and treasure of the nation. 

But it matters but little as to the opinions 
we may entertain In regard to the absti-act 
question, whether these States ai'c in or out 
of the Union, because it must be conceded, 
on all hands, that they liave been recog- 



nized as belligerents. Our political adver- 
saries were the first to iusi-st that these 
rights should be conceded to them. For- 
eign nations seconded the demand, and 
our Government yielded to it and treated 
them as suclu Lest some one, now that 
the war is over, should insist that they 
were not in the position of belligerents, Itt 
us examine what Uio highest legal tribunal 
of the country has declared upon the 
subject. 

The Supreme Court of the United Sfeites, 
in the prize crises recently decided, says : 
''Uence, in organizing this rebehion, they 
have acted as States claiming to be sove- 
reign over all persona and property within 
their respective limits^ and asserting a right 
to absolve their ciU2;ens from their alle- 
giance to the Federal Government." 

" It is no loose, unorganized insuri-ection, 
having no defined boundary or possession. 
It has a boundarj'- marked by lines of bay- 
onets, and which can be crossed only by- 
force. South of this line is enemy's terri- 
tory, because it is claimed and held in pos- 
session by an organized hostile and bellige- 
rent power." 

Had there been any doubt befoi'e, this 
would clearly set tJie matter at rest. Hav- 
ing enjoyed the rights of belligerents, shall 
they avoid the rci^ponsibilities and duties 
and refuse to submit to the treatment of 
belligerents? "What axe some of these lia- 
bilities? 

"The conventions and treaties madte with 
a nation are broken or annulled hy a war 
arising between the contending patties." 
Vattel, Book 3, Chap. 10, sec. 125. 

In discussing the same point, and after 
alluding to a former custom which required 
a formal declaration of war, Phillimore, p. 
QQ2, sa3^-s : " In the place of it has arisen 
the general maxim that war, ipso f ado, ab- 
brogates treaties between the belligerents." 

On the same subject Chancellor Kent 
says: "As a general rule, the obligations 
of treaties are dissipated by hostility." 1 
Kent, 175. 

On this subject Prof. Leibcr says,, on p. 
8: "All municipal law of the ground on 
which the armies stand or of the countries 
to which they belong is silent and of no 
effect between armies in the field." And 

Sergeant Wildman (page 8) saj's: "The 
primary efiect of war is to extinguish all 
civil intercourse, and to place all subjects 
of belligerents in tiie condition of enemies. 
Tills principle extends not only to the 
uatural-bom subjects, but to all persons 
domiciled in the enemies' territories ; to all 
who come to reside there with knowledixe 
of the war ; and Avho having come to reside 
before the war continued their residence 
after the commencement of hostilities for a 



s 



longer time than is necessary for their con- 
venient departure." 

For fear some one miglit contend that 
these principles do not apply in cases of 
civil war, we add an additional authority : 

In considering this question, \ attel, in 
liis Law of Nations, on pages 424 and 425, 
uses this language : 

"When in a republic the nation is di- 
vided into two opposite factions, and both 
sides take up arms, this is ca»lled a civil 
war." " The sovereign indeed never fails 
to bestow the appellation of rebels on all 
such of his subjects as openly resist him ; 
but when th« latter have acquired a suffi- 
cient strength to give him effectual oppo- 
sition, and oblige him to carrj^ on the war 
against them according to the established 
rules, he must necessarily submit to the 
use of the term 'civil w^ar.' On earth they 
liave no common superior, they stand pre- 
cisely in the same •predicament as two nations 
who engage in a contest, and, being iinable to 
come to a7i agreement, have recourse to arms.'''' 

It is therefore perfectly manifest that 
these late rebels are now in the condition 
of conquered, subdued belligerents. How 
mxiy we lawfully treat them V 

When the war has been unjust, Vattel 
says: 

'" The whole right of a conqueror is de- 
rived from justitiable self-defence, which 
comprehends the support and prosecution 
of his rights. When, therefore, he has 
subdued a hostile nation, he undeniably 
may, in the first place, do himself justice 
respecting the object which has given rise 
to the war, and indemnify himself for the 
expenses and damages he has sustained by 
it." 

"We have a right to deprive our enemy 
of his possession of every thing which may 
augment his strength and enable him to 
ma^cewar." (Page 364.) 

' ' Every thing, therefore, which belongs 
to the nation, to the state, to the sovereign, 
to the subjects — every thing of that kind, I 
say, falls under the description of things 
belonging to the encm}'." (Page 125.) 

"A^conqueror may with justice lay bur- 
dens on the conquered nation, both as a 
compensation for the expenses of the war 
and as a punishment." (Page 389.) 

On this subject one of our own authors. 
Chancellor Kent, saj's : 

*' But, however strong the current of 
authority in favor of the modern and 
milder construction of the rule of national 
law on this subject, the point seems to be 
no longer open lor discussion in this coun- 
trj' ; and it has become definitely settled in 
lavor of the ancient and sterner rule by the 
Supreme Court of tlic United Stales." 
Kent's .Com., page 59. Also see Brown v. 



The United States, 8 Cranch, 110. See 
also Ibid., 228, 229. 

Kent, in the same connection, in refer- 
ring to the case of the cargo of the ship 
Emulous, 1 GalUson, 563, in the Circuit 
Court of the United States, at Boston, says : 
"When the case was brought up, on ap- 
peal, bel'ore the Supreme Court of the 
United States, the broad principle w^as as- 
sumed, that war gave to the sovereign IVhI 
right to take the persons, and confiscate 
the property of the enemy wherever found ; 
and that the mitigations of this rigid rule, 
which the wise and humane policy of 
modern times had introduced into practice, 
might, more or less, aflect the exercise of 
the right, but could not impair the right 
itself." 



TKEATMENT OF EEBELS. 

We have thus seen how we may legally 
treat those lately in rebellion against us. 
How should w^e treat them ? All will admit 
that we should desire to act towards them 
in such a way as best to promote the wel- 
fare of the people, and add most to the 
greatness and glory of our common country. 
It will depend much upon our action 
whether the war just closed, the most 
gigantic in the world's history, shall pro- 
cUrce substantial results, or whether the 
blood and treasure of the nation have been 
shed and expended in vain. W^e must be 
merciiul, but mercy must be tempered with 
justice. Indiscriminate mercy to the enemy 
would be danger and injustice to the nation. 
We must neither seek nor ask lor vengeance. 
Whenever our late adversaries come in a 
true spirit of sorrow and repentance, sheath 
the sword and agree to obey the law, in the 
future we will extend to them the right 
hand of fellowship, and forgive them for 
the past. After they shall have given us 
satisfactory security for the future, by a 
reasonable probation, we will then, but not 
till then, rt store them to the enjoyment of 
all the inestimable rights and high privileges 
which they so recently, so defiantly, and so 
causelessly trampled under their feet. For 
defiant and unyielding rebels ; for those 
who keep the sword still drawn, reeking 
with the blood of our brothers ; for those 
Avho refuse to accept and submit, in good 
faith, to the results of the war ; for all who 
glory in the part they took in the rebellion, 
and who still insist that they were right and 
the nation wrong, we must have confisca- 
tion, loss of citizenship, and in the end, 
banishment or the halter. Under the jaw 
of nations, and by the laws of war, we have 
a clear right to enforce the great objects of 
i all wars — indemnity for the past, ancV secu- 



d 



rity for the future. This rigid extends to 
the confiscation of the enemy's property 
after the war is over. Even as a question 
of policy and expediency, or upon the 
ground of humauity, it is by no means cer- 
tain that some such measure is not required 
for the security of the future. The -war is 
not ended until the conquered party has 
fairly accepted all its results. As we have 
seen, we hold the late rebel States by the 
power of war as conquered belligerents. 
It is not only the right, but the solemn duty 
of the government, to hold these belligerents 
in the military grasp until all shall be de- 
manded and obtained which may be neces- 
sary to secure the nation in the tuture, and 
render another rebellion or another war 
impossible. In accomplishing these ends, 
who could reasonably complain if it should 
bg found necessary to confiscate the property 
(H the rich, influential and active traitors. 
If the aristocratic element of the South will 
not be taught to obey the law, let its power 
aud influence be taken from it by taking 
away its wealth. What loyal man could 
ol)ject, that by means of this iund, a few of 
the comforts, if not the luxuries of life, 
should be added to the tables of those 
widows throughout the land whose firesides 
have been made desolate by the war, or 
rather by the treason which caused it ? 
Who would object, that the bounties and 
pensions of our soldiers, by whom the vic- 
tory was won and the nation saved, should 
be increased, and a trifle added to the pecu- 
niary compensation so justly due them for 
the sacrifices made? Who could object, 
that by means of these funds, so justly for- 
feited, a large portion of our national debt 
should be paid, and thereby the taxes of all 
classes of our people diminished, jiind a part 
of the heavy load imposed upon the shoul- 
ders of our people by treason, thus removed 
by treason itself? The rich men' of the 
South — the aristocracy of the rebellious 
States, are almost entirely responsible for 
the rebellion. For ceniuries they have been 
living in ease and luxuiy, sustained, sup- 
ported and enriched by the sv^'eat and toil 
of the slave. Our so-called Democratic 
adversaries tell us that the war was for the 
negro, and for the abolition of slavey. If 
this be true, would it not seem to be a just 
judgment or decree of an over-ruling Provi- 
dence, that the fruits of the negro's labor 
and toll should thus be wrested from the 
hands of his master to purchase aud secure 
his own freedom ? 

It is absolutely indispensable to the future 
peace of the country, that the world shall 
be made to understand that treason is a 
great crime, and must be punished. Yet 
m the settlement of these questions, the 
reb^" shall receive at our hands all that 



; justice and safety will permit us to grant. 

Our treatment of them shall be greatly in- 
[ fluenced by their future conduct aud actions 
I towards the nation. And in shaping these, 

it would be well for them to remember that 
' the war was of their own seeking, and of 
j Iheir own making, aud that no one is so 

completely bound by a vei'dict as the man 

who sought the advantages of the trial. 



THE SOLDIERS. 

Extraordinary efforts are being made by 

our opponents to obtain the votes of our 

, fellow-citizens recently returned from the 

i service of the country in the army of the 

nation. In these efTorts they should, and 

it is confidently believed that they will fail : 

1. Because a vigorous prosecution of the 
war for the suppression otthe rebellion has 
ever been urged by the XTnion party of the 
coimtry. 

2. Because the war has never been sus- 
tained or advocated by the leaders of the 

I party opposed to the administration. 

I 3. Because the friends of the Union cause 
I have always sustained and supported the 
j soldiers in the field, and the leaders of pre- 
I tended Democracy have ridiculed and de- 
! rided the soldiersof the Union, calling them 
'; ' ' Lincoln' s hirelings, " " robbers, " " plun- 
derers," and other epithets unfit for repeti- 
; tion. 

4. Because when volunteers were called 
' for, they dcmaeded a draft. 

5. Because when the draft came, they 
opposed the commutation clause, and de- 

1 dared it Avas a discrimination against the 

, poor man. 

i 

' G. Because when that clause was repealed 

' they complained that the only hope of the 

poor man was gone. 
I 
j 7. Because they denounced the war as a 

negro war, and did nothing to aid or assist 

in carrying it on. 

8. Because they became highly indignant 
when negro troops were called tor, arid 
threw the benefit of all their sympathies 
with the South. 

9. Because they opposed every measure 
tlie government found it necessary to -adopt 
for the suppriaaaion of the rebehion.- 

10. Because thej'- magnified every' rebel 



1,0 



success, and deprecated every Uniou vic- 
toiy. 

11. Because, in 1864, they declared the 
war a failure. 

12. Because, in 1865, they declare that 
the fruits of the -war are "deht, disgrace, 
aud slaughter." 

13. Because they tried to prevent the 
extension of the right of suffrage to soldiers 
in service. Their leaders opposed it in 
almost every form. Senator Wallace, now 
Cbiiirman of their State Central Committee, 
said, (see Record of 1864, pages 335, 339,) 
'■ 1 vote against this bill upon principle, as 
well as for form. It is said that so meri- 
torious a class as volunteer soldiers should 
not be disfranchised. To this I answer, 
tliat neither the Constitution of 1790, nor 
that of 1838, conferred this privilege, and 
the act of the soldier in taking upon himself 
duties that are from their nature incompat- 
ible with the right of suffrage, deprives him 
of this privilege. lie dinfranchises himself 
wlien lie Manes to be a citizen^ and takes vpoii 
JiunAelfthe duties of a soldi-er.^^ When the 
amendment of the Constitution was sub- 
mitted to a vote of the people, many of the 
so-culled Democratic counties gave majori- 
ties against it, while every connty in the 
State, (and it is believed every election pre- 
cinct, ) which gave Id Abraham Lincoln a 
majority of its votes, gave a majority in 
favor of the amtndmenti. 

14. Their leaders almost invariably op- 
posed giving bounties to volunteers, while 
the friends of the Union party always sus- 
tained and supported these measures. 

15. Even since the war is orer, they em- 
ployed their ablest lawyers in an effort to 
declare the bounty laws unconstitutional, 
aud really persuaded their two friends on 
the- bench of the Supreme Court so to hold. 

16. When men were grcatJy needed to fill 
up the ranks, and the Government ordered 
a draft, they resisted, and all of their repre- 
sentatives upon the bench of the Supreme 
Court declared the law authorizing the 
National Government to take men out of 
the State, by draft, was unconstitutional 
and void. Men were only obtained, and 
the nation s.aved because their party was 
defeated at the polls in 1863, aud the act of 
three of these Judges rebuked by the 
people, and one of their plac«e fillctl by a 
loyal man and sound judge.; 

17. Because they have tried to injure the 
credit, and disparage the currency of the 



country, by means of which the pay, boun- 
ties, and pensions of the soldier can alone 
be paid. This point they also pressed be- 
fore the Supreme Court of the State, and 
failed by a division of three to two. 

18. Because the platform of the tThion 
party recognizes the services of the soldier 
— declares that the war was commenced by 
rebels — that peace was the result of the 
courage and heroism of the Union arjny — 
that the cause in which he fought was lioly 
and sacred, and that honor, glory, and 
prosperity to the country, and not 'debt, 
disgrace, and slaughter," are the legitimate 
fruits of his toih 

19. Because when Union men exptressed 
the hope that our troops might soon be able 
to conquer the South, even by their exhaus- 
tion and want of food, those leaders of the 
new Democracy declared that "we could 
never conquer the South," and that "they 
had more to eat in the South than vis had 
in the North." 

20. Because when rebels were starving 
our brave soldiers l)y the hundred at Libby, 
Belle Island, Andersonville, and elsewhere, 
these same leaders excused or mitigated the 
crime by declaring that " they fed our pris- 
oners as well as they did their own men-;" 
that "owing to the unconstitutional block- 
ade of the tyrant Lincoln, they could not 
obtain a suflficieucy of food." 

PEESIDENT JOHNSON AND 'fSE 
OPPOSITION. 

The opposition has not been so consistent 
in their course towards President Johnson 
as they have on the subject of the war. 
Prior .to his re-nomination, they abused, 
vililied and denounced him. From the time 
of his nomination until the election, no 
epithets were t-oo coarse. From the in- 
auguration until the death of President 
Lincoln, they continued in the same strain. 
After that they begun to flatter — tlicn to 
approach. When he ordered the execution 
of the assassins, they sent Ibrth a loud 
howl of indignation. When he ordered a 
trial of the Andersonville wholesale mur- 
derer, and talked of trjdng Jefferson Davis, 
tlicy were about to give him up in dt^pair. 
But now thev profess to grow a little mo»e 
confident, 't'hey endorse him in Maine 
and New York. They endorse him (pro- 
vided he will do as they wish) in Pennsyl- 
vania. In 1863, they spoke of him thus : 
Senator Lamberton, Record of 1863, page 
369. "But then he was Andrew Johnson 
the Democrat. Now, however, he has 



11 



deserted Lis post of duty in Tennessee ; he 
is stultifying his past record ; he has htcuvie 
aj^ensioner on powei\ and a defender of the 
vsurpaiions of Abraham Lincoln; aud he 
appears among us to-day as an itinerant 
peddler of aboHtioniim.''^ ' Senator Wallace, 
page 37'i : " During all the existence of the 
rebellion, where is Andrew Johnson ? In 
the Senate of the United States, seeking 
^protection for himself and his fellows under 
the bayonets of the soldiers of McClellau. 
He. is never found in arms in defence of liis 
State, or valiantly fighting in defence of the 
liberties of his people, against the armed 
cohorts of the rebellion. " Never, never!" 
Senator Clymer, page 377: "I say, sir, 
that his'' (Johnson's) "appointment, by 
the President of the United States, to that 
position, Avas a usurpation of power on the 
part of the President." * * * * "That is 
my position, so far as concerns this pre- 
tended Governor of Ti;nnessee. But with- 
out regard to any question of his official 
p;Ositiou, take Andrew Johnson a$ an indi- 
vidual. * * * I never, by my vote, will 
allow a man to come into these halls and 
from this place speak to the jjeople of this 
great State, in support of what I know to 
be illegal, unconstitutional and tyrannical 
acts of the Federal Government. 1 know, 
sir, that Andrew Johnson has gone as far 
as the farthest, and is ready to go still 
further, U) deHroy, to -uproot, to upturn 
every principle upon which this great and 
good Government of ours was founded. I 
know that he has bent with suppliant knee 
before the throne of power ; / know that for 
pelf, or some other consideration, he has 
succumbed to ever;/ measure presented to him 
for approtal or disapproval.''^ 

These political leaders now are simply 
watching their chances, hoping that some- 
thing may turn up which may enable them 
to return to povv^er. In New York they 
adopted a platform at variance with all 
their past professions, and actually refused 
to condemn negro suffrage ! They hope to 
use President Johnson to subserve their 
selfish purposes. 



TEE- OEAKGE OF NEGEO EQUALITY. 

For many years our iwlitical opponents 
seem to have a large investment in slavery 
and the negro. Now that slavery is pretty 
generally admitted to be dead, it was 
thought that they might allow the old sub- 
ject to rest. But not so. They return to 
the question with as much apparent zeal 
and warmth as ever. With a full know- 
ledge of the fact that negro sulFrago and 
negro equality are not, and could not pos- 
sibly be, an issue, in the October contest. 



they are making extraordinary efforts to 
mislead and deceive their fellow -citizens 
into a contrary belief. They think that 
our hostility and prejudices against tlie 
negro are so great, and that they have so 
often appealed to these with some show of 
success, that it is only necessary to repeat 
the effort in order to accomplish their de- 
signs. They tell you that elforts are being 
made to elevate the negro, and to plac« 
the two races on an equality. They seem 
to be very much afraid that some ])Oor (te- 
graded negro may outstrip them in the riiOQ 
of life, 'f hey tell us that these negroes are 
weak, ignorant, and inferior to the whitos. 
If so it would seem that they needed our 
help and .assistance to educate and instrutt 
them. The only danger of equality we 
can see is, that some white men, by contin- 
uing longer in such a course of argumeui, 
ill utt(;r disregard of truth, experience, and 
history, for tho base purpose of reaching 
the prejudices of the thoughtless, may al 
last succeed in bringing themselves down 
to or beneath the level of the negro. Tlw* 
time was when they confidently declared 
that the destruction of slavery would send 
swarms of negroes into our midst to drive 
away white laborers. Experience has 
shown that the few we had here ran away 
from slavery in the South, and that htwl 
there been no slavery there these negroes 
in the North would liave long since moved 
South. They told us, too, that in case of a 
war, the slaves would aii fight for their 
masters. Neither Southern masters nor 
their Northern allies have any faith in this 
doctrine now. But these politicians cannot 
live without the negro. He comprises 
nearly their entire slock in trade. Orie 
year it is one phase of tiie negro question ; 
another year it is something else. The 
great work of Bishop Hopkins was oiKJe 
one of their standard works. It is rather 
dull salo this year. The conduct of thex 
politicians towards tlie poor degraded ne- 
gro, would be past all comprehension, had 
wti not a memorable example of the same 
Itind in the early historjr of the human race. 
All the troublesome and deadly plagUQg^of 
Egypt, including the death of all the firs^ 
born of the land, were not sufiicient to 
reach the heart of Pharoah, nor to per- 
suade the Egyptians of the errors and sins 
of slavery, bo that, even after the slaves 
had left the country, led by a pillar of a 
cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night, 
the ruler and his hosts of subjects followed 
them even into the midst of the Red Sea. 
Our nation has suffered more than all tlie 
plagues of Egypt. As the law of prinK)- 
geniture has be-eu alwlished among us, the 
deaths vrere not all of our first-born, but 
nearly one of every household ; yet these 



12 



deluded hosts, led on by hfird-lieartcd and 
•wicked Phuroahs, as leaders, arc still pur- 
suiuG; even into the midst of the Red Sea. 
Will'not the "waters standing as walls of 
safely to the slaves, return again and cover 
Pharoah and his hosts, and'all that come 
into the sea after them, until there shall re- 
main not so much as one of them V" 



OUS CANDIDATES. 

For Auditor-General, we have presented 
the name of Major-Geneval JOHN F. 
HARTP.ANFT, of Montgomery ; and for 
Surveyor-General, that of Col. JACOB ^I. 
CA]\[PBELL, of Cambria. As biographies 
of these two gentlemen have recently been 
jiublished and circulated among their fel- 
low-citizens, it is only remarked here, that 
they are both brave and gallant soldiers, 
and especially ciualified for a satisfactory 
discharge of the duties of the rpspeclive 
offices tor which their fellow-citizens have 
nominated them. 



IMPOETAITOE OP THE ISSUE. 

It is not to be disguised that there is a 
large number of persons both at the North 
and at the South, who have not finally 
abandoned the hope of the ultimate triumph 
of the principles of the late rebellion. '^I'hey 
hone to secure by the success of their views 
at the ballot-box', that which they failed to 
accomplish by armed force. It may de- 
pend upon the decision of Pennsj-lvania on 
the 10th of October, whether the war shall 
prove, at last, a failure — whether its fruits 
are to be only " debt, disgrace and slaugh- 
ter," or whether it is to have substantial 
results in the death and burial of slavery, 
state sovereigntj' and the right of secession. 

It is a well-established fact, that tL*3 con- 
test was long protracted by reason of the 
hope and belief entertained by the South, 
that they would receive aid and syinpathy 
from the North. It is now all important 
to the South, that they should be assured 
that this hope is fallacious, and that the 
North will adhere unfalteringly, to the doc- 
tiines, principles 'and views which carried 
them triumphantly through the four years 
of blc^dy war. It is best to let them know 



at once and forever, that there is no Tiope 
for the final triumph of the doctrines and 
measures, for which they contended in the 
field. 

We have seen that the men among us 
who were first to urge upon the Govern- 
ment to hold the rebels in the light of bellig- 
erents, are now the first to strive to relieve 
them from the consequences and penalties 
of their belligerency. Those who were con- 
stant in their predictions that the "war 
would never end," and that "the South 
could never be conquered," are now most 
ready to insist that the war is over, and 
that its objects and results shall not be 
secured, but that rcbds shall be instantly 
restored to all their former rights under the 
Constitution and laws of the country. These 
same men who are now appealing to the 
soldiers for their votes, oflJicially denounce 
as "murderers" all those engaged in try- 
ing and punishing by military commission, 
the iiuthors of the wholesale slaughter of 
their companions in arms. All this and 
more they do with a full knowledge of the 
law of nations, and the laws of war, which 
declare that these men have forfeited all 
their rights under the Constitution, and 
that they now lie prostrate at the feet of 
the victor, as conquered, overthrown and 
subdued belligerents ; with just such rights 
and no more, as a kind and merciful Gov- 
ernment may choose to vouchsafe to them. 
Let the people rally to the polls and sustain 
by their votes, the great cause so nobly and 
bravely defended and sustained by the 
soldier in the field. The future will then 
declare that the " Great War of Freedom " 
was not a " failure," but our children to 
the latest generation, will learn to read with 
the warmest glow of patriotism, those pages 
of our nation's history, Avhich describe the 
skill and heroism of th« officers and soldiers 
of this great struggle, and never cease to 
venerate their memories. The greatness, 
power, resources and energy of a free peo- 
ple displayed in our great struggle for the 
preservation of the nation's life, will only 
be equalled by the future greatness, pros- 
perity and success of the nation purified, 
regenerated and reclaimed by the fiery 
ordeal through which we have just passed. 

By order of tlie Committee. 

JOHN CESSNA, 
Chaimmn. 



i=» Xj jQl T* le^ o 3R- 3va: 



tJNION CONVENTION, 



Unanimously adopted at their Convention, held at Harri&burg, 
on the 17th day of August, 1865. . 



Fil^sT. That as representatives of the 
loyal people of the Coramouwcaltli, we 
reverently desire to olfer our gratitude to 
Almighty God, whose favor has vouch- 
safed victory to the national arms, enabled 
us to eradicate the crime of slavery from 
oiir land, and to render treason against the 
Republic impossible forevermorc ; and next 
to Him, our thanks are due and are hereby 
tendered to our brave soldiers and sailors, 
who, by their endurance, sacrifices, and 
illustrious heroism, have secured to their 
country peace, and to the down-trodden 
everywhere an asylum of liberty ; who 
have shown that the war for the restoration 
of the Union is not a failure, and whose 
valor has proven for all time the fact that 
this Government of the people, by the 
people, for the people, is as invincible in 
its strength as it is beneficent iu its opera- 
tion. 

Second. That revering the mcmorj' of 
Abraham Lincoln, the great martyr of 
liberty, we cannot show greater honor to 
his name than by a generous support of his 
feliow-patriot and successor, Andrew John- 
son, the President oftho United States, wlio 
has been called to complete the task which 
he left unfinished. His unbending patriot- 
ism in the past is a sure guarantee that iu 
tJie momentous future the authority of the 
Government will be upheld, and the rights 
and liberties of all the citizens of the 
Republic secured. 

Tdikd. That the mild and generous 



method of reconstruction offered by the 
President to the people Jately in rebellion, 
iu the judgment of this Convention, haa 
not been accepted in the spirit of honest 
loyalty and gratitude, but "with such evi- 
dence of defiance and hostility f^s to impel 
us to the conviction that they cannot safely 
be entrusted with the political rights which 
they forfeited by their treason, until they 
have proven their acceptance of the results 
of the war, by incorporating them in con- 
stitutional provisions and securing to all 
men within their borders their inalienable 
right to life, liberty and the pursuir oi 
happiness. 

Fourth. That having conquered the 
rebellious States, they should be held in 
subjection, and the treatment they are to 
receive and the laws which are to govern 
them, should be referred to the lawmaking 
pov/er of the nation, to which it legiti- 
mately belongs. 

Fifth. That as the late rebellion was 
wantonly precipitated by the propejty 
holders of the South, it is but just that they 
should pay the expenses of the war, antl 
Congress should declare as forfeited and 
vested in the Government the property of 
all rebels whose estates exceed the sunk of 
$10,000, and that the proceeds of the pro- 
perty so confiscated should be applied to 
increase the pensions of those entitled 
thereto by the casualties of the war, to pay 
the damages done by the enemy to loyal 

13 



14 



citizens, and to reduce t.be burden of the 
national debt. 

Sixth. That it is the duty of Congress 
so to revise the revenue laws a» to afford 
increased protection to American industrj- ; 
to secure the develojimr nt of the industrial 
■wt'alth of the people ; to render labor pro- 
titable and rt'munrrative ; to build up home 
markets for agriculturists ; to attract capi- 
t-jil to the mineral fields of the country, and 
to provide revenue for the maintenance of 
the public credit ; and this Convention 
recognizes the chief cncm)- to a pobcy of 
protection in that European power ■which, 
for four j^ears, has furnished piratical rcs- 
sels of ^va^ to the rebels, and thus en- 
deavored to drive our commerce from the 
seas. 

Seventh. That any attempt by foreign 
nations to establish a monarchical govern- 
UKUt on this continent is evidence of a 
design to destroy Kepublican institutions 
Regard for our oAvn safety and for the 
future security of the Republic demand that 
no such attempt should succeed. 

Eighth. That it is Ujc duty of Congress 
to? secure the full Federal bounty to all 
honorably 'discharged soldiers, irrespective 
of the date of their enlistment. 

Ninth. That vre recognize in Edwin M. 
Stanton the fearless, hon-est and able head 
of the Department of War, a public servant 
■vrtio has deserved Avell of his country, and 
bas borne himself so clear in his great 
office as to merit the earnest gratitude of 
eil loyal men ; and we tender to him and 
to his distinguished colleagues in the Cabi- 
net our thanks for their valuably scrvicca in 
UiQ cause of liberty and law. 

Tenth. That the c-onstant devotion of 
Gdvemor Curtin to the best interests of the 
State and nation, during the last four years, 
and his indefatigable efforts on all occasions 
to pay the just debt of gratitude we owe 
our national defenders, not merely by words 
but also by deeds, entitles him to the thanks 
oi' every loyal citizen of Pennsylvania, 

Eleventh. That this Convention, repro- 
sonting the loyal people of Pennsylvania, re- 
co^izes the claims of our citizen soldiers 
on our confidence and gratitude ; and that 
in nominations for offices especial regard 
sJiould be paid to the claims of those who 
have faithfully served their country in the 
army or the navy in the suppreesion of the 
rebeUion. 

TwELVFTH. That the leaders of the Dem- } 



ocrntic party stand arraigned befoJt the 
people of Pennsylvania for constantly ob- 
structing the efforts of the constituted au- 
thorities to maintain the life of the RepuL!>«. 
They did this 

Bj- inflaming the passions of their igno- 
rant followers against the legally electt^l 
officers of the Federal Government, and r%- 
fraining from all reproach against tr<;ason 
or armed traitors. 

By procuring a decision from th? I>en>o- 
craiic judges of our Supreme Court, deny- 
ing the right of the Government to the ser- 
vices of the citizens of this State for the 
defence of their imperilled countiy. 

By discouraging men from volunteering 
into the armies of the Union ; thus render- 
ing it necessary to succumb to treason, or 
to pay large bounties, and so burdening 
every ward, township and borough in tins 
State with debt to fill the ranks of our 
armies. 

By opposing the enlistment of negroes 
for our defence, although one white man 
less was required for every black one w!k) 
could be enlisted, and this at the very nio- 
ment when the battle of Gettysburg wa« 
raging on the soil of Pennsylvania, and t'se 
result of that decisive battle was uncertain. 
,^,By denying to our soldiers the right to 
vote while fighting for the flag of our fathers, 
on the plea that such rights were not 
allowed by our constitution, and by op;x)- 
sing an amendment which removed tlxir 
objections, and relieved our brave sokliei* 
from this disability. 

By exaggerating the public indebtedness, 
denying the public credit, and teaching that 
the financial resources of the North weisa 
unequal to the suppression of the rebellwon. 

By a shameful opposition to measuies 
for extending relief to the families of Union 
soldiers, and by a malignant effort by tlic^* 
means to secure the success of the rebels in 
the field, or such a protraction of the v.'ar 
as would exhaust the nation in its efibrt to 
subdue their friends. 

By Tu>w heaping abuse upon the Go^^rn- 
ment for punishing atsassins and their ae- 
complices; by demanding the release of i 
leading traitors, by frowning down all at- 
tempts to bruig to punishment the ficacis 
who starved our soldiers, and by assuriiig 
rebels that neither in person or property 
shall they be punished for their crimes. 

And if anything were wanting to -ooni- 
plete their infamy, we have it in their deter- 
mined opposition to free labor, and to a 
tariff which, wlule it would make labor pjo- 
fitable by protectmg the workingmen of 
Pennsylvania from British competition, 
would largely increase the revenue essen- 
tial to the maintenance of the public faith 
and credit. 



3E=* Xj .<^ "27 :F^ O :E=5. IVE 



D-EIOCRATIC COMENTIOI, 



Unaninioiisly adopted at Harrisburg, August 24th, 1865. 



t;' 



Wliereas^ It is the imperative duty and || 
ghould be the exchisive desire of. every 
American citizen intrusted with the power 
of controlling pubUc alTairs by his vote or 
otherwise, to see that they are administered 
with a sinrcle eye to tlie great objects wliicli 
CRir ibrefethers had in view wlien they laid 
tiie foundations of this republic, viz. : To 
form a more perfect Union; establish jus- 
tice ; insure domestic tranquillity ; provide 
for the common defense ; promote the 
.general welfare, and secure the blessings of 
libcity to ourselves and our posterity. 

"WTifreas^ The men and the party admin- 
istcrmg the Federal Government since 1861 
have betrayed their trust, violated their 
sacred obligations, disregarded the com- 
mands of the fundamental law, corruptly 
squandered the public money, denied jus- 
tice to the people, perverted the whole 
Government from its original purpose, and 
tliei'eb.v have brought on untold calamities 
upoai the country ; therefore be it 

I^solved, First. That we, the Democracy 
of Pennsylvania, arc now, as we always have 
been, faithful to the Union of the States, 
(^posing the seces^on of the South with 
jfll our influence, and having no sympathy 
Off association whatever with that party in 
t3i& Nojth which plotted against the Union 
ajjji pronounced the Constitution "a cove- 
nant with death and on agreement with 
helU" 

Second. That if the counsels of the 
Deiaocratic party had prevailed, the Union 
would have been saved in all itajintegrity 



and honor, without the slaughter, debt and 
disgrace of a civil war. But when the for- 
mation of sectional parties in the North and 
in the South, and the advent of one of these 
parties into the seats of power made wtir a 
fact which we could not counteract, we 
sustained the Federal authorities in good 
faith, asking nothing at their hands except 
a decent respect for our legal rights, and 
some show of common honest}^ in the man- 
agement of our financial afi\iirs, but in both 
these particulars we were disappointedand 
betrayed. 

Third. That the Constitution establKhed 
by our revolutionary fathers is entitled t.o 
our unqualified respect and obedience ; tlie 
oath to support it is binding, religiously, 
morally and legally, at all times, under all 
circumstances, and in every part of the 
courttry ; upon all public ofiicers, from the 
highest to the lowest, as well as uix»n 
private citizens ; it is only by a strict ob- 
servahce of its provisions, and a rigid en- 
forcement of its obligations in all the States, 
that we can hope for union, liberty, or 
peace. He who wilfully violates it, or 
counsels violation by others, is a public 
enemy and dishonest man. 

Fourth. That among the rights gunscin- 
tied to U3, by the plainest words of the 
Constitution, are these : Free press, freedom 
from arbitrary arrest and illegal imprison- 
ment, trial by jury, the ■vrnt of habeas 
corpus, the perfect immunity of all per&ons 
not in the army or navy from any species 
of punishment for crime or pretended crime 
which is not the legal consequence of a 
legal conviction by an impartial jurjs, the 



16 



abiolute subordir.ation of all mililaiy power 
to the civil autiioiitj-, and the privilcj^e of 
white cilizjns to vote at the State elections, 
acconling to the laws of the State. 

Fifth. That we fully concur witli Presi- 
dent Johnson in the conviction expressed 
by him in 18G0, and repeated several times 
since, that the Federal Government is sove- 
reign within its proper sphere ;- that it acts, 
not through or upon the States, but directly 
upon individuals ; that the States could not 
absolve the people from their federal obli- 
gations ; that the State ordinances of Seces- 
sion were nullities, and, therefore, when 
the attempted revolution came to an end, 
by the submission of the insurgents, the 
States were as much a part of the Union as 
tJiey had been before. Their people were 
bound to the same duties and clothed Avitli 
the same rights, excepting, of course, such 
rights as individuals among them had 
Icgallj' forfeited by their own acts in the 
meantime, and we hereby declare that so 
far as we can prevent it, the resumption of 
their proper places in the Union by those 
States, some of whose citizens were lately 
in Rebellion, shall not be impeded or de- 
Inj'cd by the unlawful interference of that 
Cictioii at the North which was always 
hostile to the Union, which now pro- 
nounces it legally desolated, and which is 
still malignantly laboring to prevent its 
restoration. 

Sixth. That the effort now making by 
certain persons to use the power of the 
Geiieral Government with a view to force 
negro suG'ragc upon the States against the 
will of the people and contrary to existing 
laws, is not only a high crime against, the 
Constitution, but a duliberate and wicked 
attempt to put the States of thistJnion (all 
of them more or less, and some of them 
entirely) under the domination of negroes, 
to Africanize a large portion of the country, 
and degrade the white race, morally and 
socially, as well as politically, to the low 
level of the black. We will not acknow- 
ledge ttie incapacity of our own race to gov- 
ern itself, nor surrender the destinies of the 
country into the hands of negroes, nor put 
themselves under their guardianship, nor 
give up to them the political privileges 
which we inherited from our lathers, and 
we exhort our brethren in other States to 
t^ake up the same attitude and maintain it 
firai\3\ Jft 

SEVE:>Tn. That we will support Presi- 
dent Johnson in every just effort he may 
make to place all the States in their proper 
positions, to .give to them a fair representa- 
tion in Congress, to save them from the 



curse of negro equality ; he shall have our 
hearty approval when he inflicts legal pua- 
i^hmtnt b}'' means of legal tribunals Upon 
offenders against the United States, and we 
will be with him in every means which 
looks to the maintenance of the publle 
credit. But our full approval of his admin- 
istration can be founded only in the beliref 
that he will execute the law, the whole Eiw, 
and nothing but the law^, in all parts of tb^ 
country ; that he will not allow the military 
to interfere with State elections ; thAt h^ 
will punish kidnapping and robbery through 
the legal authorities, whether committed By 
Fedc'-al officers or private citizens, and tha4, 
lie will sulfcr no person to be muvdered by 
Militai-y Commission, and upon these meas- 
ures there can be no compromise ; "he that 
is not for us is against us." 

Eighth. That in view of our enoritwus 
national debt, the great weight of our Statse 
taxes, and the local burdens imposed upon 
us in divers ways, economy and retrench- 
ment becomes an important duty of all our 
representatives, and to this end the vast 
standing army now on foot ought to be dis- 
banded, the navy should be reduced, and 
the corrupt and extravagant practices lately 
introduced into the Government should be 
totally abolished. 

Ninth. That our revenue laws neM to 
be carefully revised in such manner that 
while the public credit will be maintained, 
and the national honor preserved, taxation 
will be equal and just. 

Tenth. That the gallant soldiers oftbe 
Republic, who so nobly risked their lives 
in defence of the Union and the Constitu- 
tion, merit and will receive the undying 
[ gratitude of the American people. Living, 
[ they shall live in our warmest affections, 
[ and dying, their memories will be cherishecl 
I for all time to come. To say, as our polifi- 
j cal opponents do, that they fought and bled, 
I and died mainly for the freedom of the 
j negro, is a gross insult on their patriotism 
and an outrage which will be indignantly 
resent ed by their surviving comrades thifgugh 
the ballot-box. ' 

Eleventh. That the noble mann?^ in 
which the Democratic press of this (^m- 
monwealth have contended in the defpg^^ 
of the liberties of the nation, amid trials ana 
difficulties almost unparalleled, is deserving 
of our grateful recognition, and should en- 
title it to the encouragement of every Oon- 
stitutiou-loving citizen. 



TwELUTH. That we reafl3rm our 
rence to the Monroe doctrine. 



adbe- 



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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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